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First Coast Connect

4/25/2018: Climate Change - Dr. Peter Ward; Teach For America Anniversary; ArtRepublic

Left - Mellimage/Shutterstock.com, center - Montree Hanlue/Shutterstock.com, right - NASA.
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right - nasa

Wednesday on First Coast Connect we spoke with climate scientist Dr. Peter Ward about an upcoming government report being prepared by the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment (01:08).

We discussed Teach for America and the issues surrounding education with Manager for Teacher Development John Grab and TFA alumni Lynette Jean (26:59) as Jacksonville commemorates the 10th anniversary of the organization.

ArtRepublic founder Jessica Santiago told us about some upcoming projects being planned for the area. (46:00). 

Climate Change - Dr. Peter Ward

This week members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences called for “the Federal Government to maintain scientific content on publicly accessible websites, to appoint qualified personnel to positions requiring scientific expertise, to cease censorship and intimidation of Government scientists, and to reverse the decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Accord.”

Scientists point to the U.S. National Climate Assessment report for people interested in studying these complex issues.

That report actually goes beyond last year's Climate Science Special Report to locate the climate problem within specific U.S. communities and industries.

Teach for America Anniversary

Teach for America is marking its 10th anniversary in Jacksonville this month.

TFA recruits and places teachers in the nation’s most underserved schools.

They make a two-year commitment to teach in the classroom. Here in Jacksonville, the TFA alumni network is now approaching 200 people. Many stay in the classroom longer than two years.

ArtRepublic Projects

ArtRepublic in Jacksonville is already known for its incredible large-scale murals that have gone up all around downtown.

Now, the organization is launching a regional artist development program.

They’ll choose a select group from a variety of mediums to benefit from a year-long program that involves travel, workshops and mentorship.

The winners will be announced this November when Art Republic takes over the downtown urban core for its third annual event.

Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.

Kevin Meerschaert has left WJCT for new pursuits. He was the producer of First Coast Connect until October of 2018.